France round-up: Vahirua inspires Nantes victory
Tuesday, January 29, 2002
Article summary
Marama Vahirua scored twice as FC Nantes Atlantique were 3-0 winners over Olympique Lyonnais.
Article body
Marama Vahirua scored twice as FC Nantes Atlantique stunned second-placed Olympique Lyonnais with a 3-0 victory in Le Championnat on Tuesday night.
Opportunity missed
The 21-year-old striker scored two goals in the first half to put the game beyond Lyon, who could have closed the gap on leaders RC Lens to two points with a win. The first came from close range on the half-hour mark, and the second was a powerful header scored just before the interval.
'Lyon were stunned'
"The second goal killed them," said Vahirua, who had only scored one goal this season prior to the game. "They had just recovered from the first and were gaining control of the game. The second stunned them and the third was the fatal blow."
Excellent night's work
Viorel Moldovan completed an excellent night's work in the 53rd minute, and Nantes, who jumped from 14th place to eleventh due to the victory, have now gone five games unbeaten without conceding a goal.
